Dirt Weed

When: Fri., Oct. 29 2010

Last summer, a newly formed country music band found themselves climbing out of the musical carnage of the Trident United Way Battle of the Bands with the coveted People’s Choice Award. They go by Dirt Weed. It’s unknown if they are fans of bad marijuana and hanging with Willie Nelson, or if they are even referring to an illicit substance; in any case, Dirt Weed is the manifestation of a dream held by two local pharmaceutical sales reps that chatted at work about how “no one out there was playing modern country music that lots of people are listening to today” — fan favorite stuff from the likes of Jason Aldean, Brooks and Dunn, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood. To fill this niche, lead vocalist Dante Cerni and drummer Jon Befumo (also of Playlist) recruited vocalist Connie Burton, guitarist Al Burton, bassist Robert Hogg, fiddler Andre, and the multi-talented Scott Palmer, who plays dobro, mandolin, and pedal steel. Not only did Befumo and Cerni see a vacancy in the local music scene, but they are also fans of modern country because “plain and simple, it rocks.” They enjoy the influences today’s country has taken on, blending elements of pop and classic rock while retaining that ever-popular good ol’ country twang. —Dustin J. Pitts